After the NBA Finals Champion is crowned the champion should compete in a final tournament with champion teams from other top leagues(Spanish league,German league,French league,Australian league,etc) to determine the best basketball team in the world

It would help give more exposure of NBA talent(rather than Team USA) to other countries and us NBA fans here would be able to see if a star player in Spain could dominate on a NBA All Star in regular basketball rather than FIBA ball

I really would like to see a team like San Antonio play FC Barcelona,because its hard for us American basketball fans to see Euroleague ball

After the NBA Finals Champion is crowned the champion should compete in a final tournament with champion teams from other top leagues(Spanish league,German league,French league,Australian league,etc) to determine the best basketball team in the world

wont work due to different rules in each league. unless everyone plays FIBA but then euros have the advantage.

anyone problem is the reputation of the NBA product. NBA is considered to be the greatest league with the greatest players in the world. if an NBA team loses to another team from a different league it will show an inferior product.

After the NBA Finals Champion is crowned the champion should compete in a final tournament with champion teams from other top leagues(Spanish league,German league,French league,Australian league,etc) to determine the best basketball team in the world

It would help give more exposure of NBA talent(rather than Team USA) to other countries and us NBA fans here would be able to see if a star player in Spain could dominate on a NBA All Star in regular basketball rather than FIBA ball

I really would like to see a team like San Antonio play FC Barcelona,because its hard for us American basketball fans to see Euroleague ball

Stern probably signed off on this idea in 2004

Didn't the NBA do this up until the mid-90's? The NBA champs would go overseas and play in the McDonalds championships.

I think the NBA champ should have to put on the Washington generals uniforms and play against the Harlem Globetrotters. Using the Globetrotters's refs and the Globetrotters can use ladders, yoyo balls and buckets full of confetti anytime they want. that would be great.

It would help give more exposure of NBA talent(rather than Team USA) to other countries and us NBA fans here would be able to see if a star player in Spain could dominate on a NBA All Star in regular basketball rather than FIBA ball

Regular ball is supposed to be under NBA rules?
Last I checked more teams play under FIBA rules, so those should be the "regular" ones

The NBA season is already so long. I can promise you that the players would hate the idea of having to do even more after winning the finals in June. How much more would they get paid for it? Also, the finals are the climax of the year, and playing euroleague teams would be a step down. Those are the types of teams that should be played in the preseason.

The NBA season is already so long. I can promise you that the players would hate the idea of having to do even more after winning the finals in June. How much more would they get paid for it? Also, the finals are the climax of the year, and playing euroleague teams would be a step down. Those are the types of teams that should be played in the preseason.

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls playing against Olympiakos Piraeus in the McDonald's Championship in Paris, 1997.

The NBA's current participation and fascination with international basketball began in 1987 when the Milwaukee Bucks hosted the first-ever McDonald's Open. Yet, that first McDonald's Open may not have come about if not for the foresight NBA Commissioner David Stern and then-FIBA Secretary General Boris Stankovic. Before then, the NBA and FIBA had never talked about getting together, let alone worked together.

But in 1986, FIBA explored the idea of opening the Olympic basketball competition to professionals for Seoul in 1988. The measure, however, did not have enough votes to pass. Still, the NBA and FIBA wanted to see how each other's brand of basketball would fare when pitted against each other. And hence, the Open, sponsored by McDonald's, was born.

The NBA was willing to host the event. FIBA had a team and a coach who were willing to participate. Alexander Gomelsky, the legendary Soviet Union coach, had long taken his team on exhibition tours of the United States, playing college teams including Indiana and North Carolina.

But Gomelsky, who entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995, wanted his Soviet team to take on the best basketball players in the world.

The NBA agreed. Yet, instead of the host city hosting a single game, it was suggested that there be a mini round-robin tournament featuring three teams. With the Bucks and the Soviet national team already set to participate, Tracer Milan, the 1987 Euroleague champion and one of the great European club teams of the decade, was invited to take part.

With the teams set, the first McDonald's Open tipped off in Milwaukee's MECCA on Oct. 23, 1987. The Bucks topped a Tracer Milan team that featured future Hall of Famers Bob McAdoo (a three-time NBA scoring champ) and Dino Meneghin, and the future Phoenix Suns coach, Mike D'Antoni, 123-111 as D'Antoni recorded a triple-double with 16 points, 11 assist and 10 steals.

The Bucks would go on to win the tournament by defeating the Soviets, 127-100, two days later, but Gomelsky's team received the experience they needed. The next year in Seoul, the Soviets defeated a U.S. men's team featuring the best college players en route to a gold medal.

For the next McDonald's Open in 1988, the NBA took its show, and the Boston Celtics -- featuring future Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish -- on the road to Madrid. The Celtics cruised in that tournament. Over the next five years, the Denver Nuggets, the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns would go on to win their respective McDonald's Open tournaments.

In 1995, the NBA Board of Governors voted to send the NBA champion over to what was now being called the McDonald's Championship, featuring championship teams from around the globe. The Houston Rockets represented the NBA well, winning the tourney, as did the Chicago Bulls (who took Paris by storm in 1997) and the San Antonio Spurs, who won in Milan in 1999.

In all, nine McDonald's Open/Championship tournaments were held and the NBA teams lost nary a game. And while the McDonald's Championship hasn't been held since 1999, the NBA continues to be deeply involved in international basketball.

Recently, the Memphis Grizzlies and Spurs played an exhibition game in Paris, while the Grizzlies and Spanish native Pau Gasol took on FC Barcelona in Spain. Also, six times since 1990, the NBA has played regular season games in Japan. In 2003, the Los Angeles Clippers and Seattle SuperSonics met at Saitama Super Arena north of Tokyo for two regular season games.

Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls playing against Olympiakos Piraeus in the McDonald's Championship in Paris, 1997.

The NBA's current participation and fascination with international basketball began in 1987 when the Milwaukee Bucks hosted the first-ever McDonald's Open. Yet, that first McDonald's Open may not have come about if not for the foresight NBA Commissioner David Stern and then-FIBA Secretary General Boris Stankovic. Before then, the NBA and FIBA had never talked about getting together, let alone worked together.

But in 1986, FIBA explored the idea of opening the Olympic basketball competition to professionals for Seoul in 1988. The measure, however, did not have enough votes to pass. Still, the NBA and FIBA wanted to see how each other's brand of basketball would fare when pitted against each other. And hence, the Open, sponsored by McDonald's, was born.

The NBA was willing to host the event. FIBA had a team and a coach who were willing to participate. Alexander Gomelsky, the legendary Soviet Union coach, had long taken his team on exhibition tours of the United States, playing college teams including Indiana and North Carolina.

But Gomelsky, who entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995, wanted his Soviet team to take on the best basketball players in the world.

The NBA agreed. Yet, instead of the host city hosting a single game, it was suggested that there be a mini round-robin tournament featuring three teams. With the Bucks and the Soviet national team already set to participate, Tracer Milan, the 1987 Euroleague champion and one of the great European club teams of the decade, was invited to take part.

With the teams set, the first McDonald's Open tipped off in Milwaukee's MECCA on Oct. 23, 1987. The Bucks topped a Tracer Milan team that featured future Hall of Famers Bob McAdoo (a three-time NBA scoring champ) and Dino Meneghin, and the future Phoenix Suns coach, Mike D'Antoni, 123-111 as D'Antoni recorded a triple-double with 16 points, 11 assist and 10 steals.

The Bucks would go on to win the tournament by defeating the Soviets, 127-100, two days later, but Gomelsky's team received the experience they needed. The next year in Seoul, the Soviets defeated a U.S. men's team featuring the best college players en route to a gold medal.

For the next McDonald's Open in 1988, the NBA took its show, and the Boston Celtics -- featuring future Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish -- on the road to Madrid. The Celtics cruised in that tournament. Over the next five years, the Denver Nuggets, the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns would go on to win their respective McDonald's Open tournaments.

In 1995, the NBA Board of Governors voted to send the NBA champion over to what was now being called the McDonald's Championship, featuring championship teams from around the globe. The Houston Rockets represented the NBA well, winning the tourney, as did the Chicago Bulls (who took Paris by storm in 1997) and the San Antonio Spurs, who won in Milan in 1999.

In all, nine McDonald's Open/Championship tournaments were held and the NBA teams lost nary a game. And while the McDonald's Championship hasn't been held since 1999, the NBA continues to be deeply involved in international basketball.

Recently, the Memphis Grizzlies and Spurs played an exhibition game in Paris, while the Grizzlies and Spanish native Pau Gasol took on FC Barcelona in Spain. Also, six times since 1990, the NBA has played regular season games in Japan. In 2003, the Los Angeles Clippers and Seattle SuperSonics met at Saitama Super Arena north of Tokyo for two regular season games.

wont work due to different rules in each league. unless everyone plays FIBA but then euros have the advantage.

anyone problem is the reputation of the NBA product. NBA is considered to be the greatest league with the greatest players in the world. if an NBA team loses to another team from a different league it will show an inferior product.

NBA is not the greatest league, they have the greatest players.. There is a distinct difference. Personally, I like FIBA style rules better. Much more physical game, where you can play actual defense and players don't go to the free throw line for careening into the defender.

And honestly, if the NBA was worried about showing an "inferior product", I would think they already blew it during the last 3 Olympic showings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by haji_d_robertas

I think the NBA champ should have to put on the Washington generals uniforms and play against the Harlem Globetrotters. Using the Globetrotters's refs and the Globetrotters can use ladders, yoyo balls and buckets full of confetti anytime they want. that would be great.

The Globetrotters aren't actually as good as advertised when it comes to actually playing basketball. It's more along the lines of And 1. It's exhibition, and they are so world renowned because they do all kinds of things that aren't legal in a game. They are skilled ball handlers within their own kinds of showmanship, but as far as actual basketball goes, they aren't that great.

If you need proof of that, go look up a player by the name of Exree Hip. I believe he played college ball at Maryland. He would have played college ball around '95 I think. (back when guys like Maurice Taylor and Joe Smith were in college)

He wasn't good enough to go pro in the NBA, but got a contract with the Globetrotters.